Whisper~

Moonlight bolts off. I try to warn her to stop, but it's too late. She may not be wearing a chain, but she is wearing cuffs. As soon as she reaches the tent flap, an electric noise and Moonlight's roar fill the air. I can only feel sorry for her. I experienced that once. I know that an electrically charged dagger just slipped into her ankles, immobilizing her feet. Luckily, she should recover in a few hours, then we can make a real plan.

"Take her away." Ron walks in, smiling and waving a hand nonchalantly. Two bulky guards pick Moolight up and escort her deep her into the tent. Ron lean over to my ear. I growl.

"You remember that, don't you?" It takes all the strength I have not to kill him with a single swipe of my claws. Ron's the only person who knows how to take the cuffs, neck braces, back braces, and muzzles off. Luckily, I only have cuffs on, but if I make a single wrong move, it'll be the whole set for me.

~~ 

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Machali~

I stay behind with Ron, watching John and my two friends walk away. I wish I could have gone with them. Training would probably mean me getting quite badly injured, but at least we would be together. 

Ron watches them go. Unfortunately, we aren't alone, two other guards are in the room with us. 

"So, Shadow, it appears your friend has gotten away. You were the closest to her, so you can tell me exactly how to hunt her down. If you don't, well... I suppose we could always find another shpeshifter to train Stalker if some horrible accident were to happen to Whisper."

"Leave Whisper out of this," I snap.

"She's just another part of my show. You can't do anything to protect her now. And with the war, everybody's too busy to take the time to shut down my buisness. All the Nobyls are too busy dealing with Catastrophe to deal with a small sideshow," Ron said with a smile. "Nobdoy is going to rescue you. Kimiko and her friend she escaped with can't do it by themselves, and it's not as if anybody's going to help them."

"So I suggest you tell me how to catch her."

"Look, I wouldn't know! We may be friends, but we've only known neach other for a few weeks!" I yelled.

Ron raises his eyebrows. "A few weeks is enough to learn a few things about her. How good is she at fighting?"

"Far too good for someone like you to ever beat her!" Ron raises his whip, but at that moment a guard starts yelling. "Ron! Stalker's trying to escape! Her cuffs should stop her, but--"

Ron stands up and runs towards the training room, leaving me alone with the guards.

~~~ 

~Moonlight

I can't move. My feet are frozen. I'm also still a panther. Everything hurts! I'm being dragged away trying to hold on to what's left of reality.

"Well I don't know if its better to leave you like this or to make you change back." Ron says walking behind us.

"You'll......... Pay......." I say using all of my strength.

"Geez that does not look pleasent" he says with a smirk "We'll keep Stalker in the animal section for now. I have a feeling that we'll need to separate Shadow too. Can't have the three of them plotting against me." He turns back to me "Don't get anymore ideas. Everyons is too busy with the war to worry about this." He smiles triumphantly.

He continues issuing orders but I can hardley listen. The last thing I hear is

"A panther on a leash. That will be amusing!"

Before I give in and collapse.

Lights. Cheers. The clink of mugs. The constant swish of bets being passed. The announcer's cruel voice. My opponent. I can hear all these things. With a growl I realize that my opponent can not be less than a fox-shifter, one of the most cunning creatures alive. The fight bell rings and my stall swings open. He cheers turn to roars, the very air ringing with the joy of evil men. I prepare a ready stance. My opponent does too, her russet fur laced with scars. Reigning champion. 'Pretend to die." I hope she understands the look on my face. Her eyes light up, so I guess she does.

"FIGHT!!" The fight bell sounds again, long, loud, and clear. We fighters lunge at each other, prepared to put on a bloody show.

~~ 

Whisper~

Out of the corner of my eye I see a gate open. To my immediate alarm, Machali appears, stumbling into the arena. A second gate opens, and a brute of a miniature hellhound, seven feet tall at the shoulder, lanches itself onto the blood-clotted sands under our feet. Fear fills Machali's eyes as the beast locks onto him. The fox smiles. Of course. The stupid fox knew this was coming. That's it. I don't care anymore. I turn on the hellhound, growling. I can almost feel Ron smiling. My claws reveal themselves to be long, sharp, and wickedly curved, the perfect shape for cutting three throats covered in thick, black fur. The hellhound notices my change of target and barks three times, once from each head. Then, it jumps for my ribcage. Before I have time to react, I'm collapsed against the wall, struggling to breathe with three broken ribs. Ron watches, still calm. The fox watches her partner advance for another strike, but doesn't see Machali scooting over to a wooden plank, half obscured by sand. It must have been wrenched off of the wall in a different fight. Beating back the pain, I swipe at the hellhound's rightmost head, blinding it with a perfect strike to the eyes. But hellhounds don't feel pain well. I forgot about that. I remember as it continues to advance. This might be my chance to kill or my demise. I lunge for the throats, extending my claws fully. One, two, three throats slashed. I've won against the hound. Machali brings down the plank on the fox's head, knocking her unconscious. Ten... Nine... Eight... Seven... Six... She's not getting up from that strike, not anytime soon anyway. Five... Four... Three... Two... ONE!! The fight bell rings again. The match is over, and Machali and I are led out of the ring. I'm limping badly, and blood drips from my lips. I think I'll survive, though... I think.

~~

Whee. 

~Moonlight

I slowly open my eyes to see bars of a cage. The room I am in is filled with other cages with exotic and strange animals in them. I look normal compared to them. This place reminds me of BIG. It's too similar. I get up and try to break the bars of my cage. I dent a few but none break.

I also attract the guards over. "She looks normal. Why is she here?"

"She's one of the shifters."

I snarl at them.

"A fiesty one!" They all laugh.

"You all will pay when I get out." I growl.

One man pushes a button and I collapse in pain. "Shock collar." He says "You might want to listen to us now."

"You have no idea how far I'll go." I mutter.

Ron walks in and the guards scramble back to their posts. "Well hello Stalker. Your coming with me."

"A shock collar, really" I snarl "Where do you think my breaking point is?"

"Oh I know your far from it. This is just to remind you that I am the only one who can set you free. Not your friends whom we will find or Shadow or Whisper. It's only me." He opens my cage and I lunge at him.

I push him onto his back, my claws at his neck. "Free. Me." I growl my voice low. Anotjer click and I'm on the floor again.  "You MONSTER!" I shout. I get back up and pounce again this time at the guard with the clicker for my collar. He's dead before he hits the floor. I pick up the clicker and cruch it in my jaws. 

The other guards look terrified. Ron however looks calm. "Don't worry. She won't kill me." He smirks "I'm the only one who can set her free. Now Stalker come with me but first transform into a human."

I sigh and try again to transform this time I do. the branding transforms with me. A guard pulls my arms behind my back and forces me to walk.

"Now you need to learn to behave as do your friends. Thanks to my friends at Jokull they taught me their torture ways."

I stop walking and only earn a shove from the guard. I try and fight my way out but I'm too tired from shapeshifting.

"Don't worry! You'll see your friends soon!"

I can only think of the terrible things happening right now to them.

We enter a room that has four chairs. Three of them are facing the other one. My guard makes me sit down in one of them and chains my arms and legs to it. Not long after Machali and Whisper come in.

I know I have fear in my eyes but I can't get rid of the feeling. They are forced into the other chairs as well. Chained to them too.

"Now you three seem to be the most trouble I've ever had!" Now let's get straight to the point. How do you find Kimiko?"

I freeze. So she really did escape! Yay!!

"I told you before, she's too good to be beat!" Machali says.

"And I told you that that wasn't a correct answer." Ron says. He raises a whip that I hadn't seen.

"No!" I shout struggling to get away.

"Now Stalker that's no way to behave!" He signals to another guard.

He comes over and hits me in the face. I inhale sharply but don't wince or cry out in pain. MY cheek is stinging. Ron hits Machali with the whip and he pulls away. Whisper shouts in alarm. 

"I know how to torture you. Just making you watch eachother getting hurt. It's too simple. Now Stalker how do you feel?"

"Like I want to tear you to pieces!" I scream at him. Whisper flashes me a warning look but it's too late.

The guard comes up to me again this time with some sort of gun. My eyes widen in fear. HE pulls the trigger and a wite light hits my chest. I freeze instantley. I try to scream some colorful insults but I can't even talk.  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kiwii says "Itun" Are you listing to itunes?   

Fidi Venomstrike--

The Homo Serpentes leaned back in her seat in the cafe. One of her many guns rested on the table in front of her. All around her, she could hear the sound of playing cards slapping wood and glasses clinking together. Ahh, the Roaring Dragon Den. 

The door swung open. Fidi glanced up, her tongue flicking in and out. A young cyborg girl stepped in, along with a cybkrg boy.

"Um," The girl said. " is there...anybody who could help us? We...need someone who can fight. "

Fidi looked at the girl. "If you're willing to pay, perhaps I would be interested." 

Her entire face lights up. "Will..ohhh, I don't know, about thirty platinum do?"

Fidi flashes a grin. "Yes. Certainly."

The girl smiles. "Oh, good, good. My name is Kimiko, and this is Connor." She set the money on the tabke.

" I need you to help break my friends out of Ron's Traveling Sideshow. "

"Ah, that guy. I've had a few tangles with Ron myself. Used to be a fighter for him...but after agout seven of his guards wound up with bullet holes in their heads, I left." Fidi said.

~~~ 

Coco says bbye. Are you saying bye to the guards Fidi shot?  

~Moonlight

I'm completley frozen. I can't even blink.

"Ah the stunning gun" Ron says somehow proudly "It's beutiful!"

"You are a-" Whisper starts

"Ah ah ah" Ron says clamping a hand over her mouth. "How do you find Kimiko?" He says "I won't ask again"

"Don't tell" Whisper whispers.

"Oh alright! Fine! I guess I'll just have to track down all of the cyborgs and all of my friends to go on a little hunt!" his eyes light up "A man hunt" He turns around and stalks out of the room.

The stunning wears off of me slowley. I don't even want to thinkk of all the mental damage I have or how bad I look. The guards leave the room locking the door behind them.

"We have to get out!" I yell"I don't know how much more I can take. I havn't even had to fight yet!" I turn away from the others feeling vurnerable for the first time in years. 

Whisper~

Moonlight turns away, trembling with the sheer force of her anger. An idea pops into my head.

"Guys, cover your ears." I command.

"Why?" Machali peers at me.

"Just do it. Only for a few moments." My friends comply. Taking a deep breath, I turn to the tent flap. Then, I scream.

Such a scream I'd never heard, much less uttered. I fill it with my rage and my heartbreak, my nightmares and my scars.

Ron, as expected, comes charging through the flaps. "What's going on??" He roars. I try to look pitiful. Judging by the flicker in Ron's eyes, I pulled it off pretty well.

"Ron, these bands are malfunctioning!" I gasp in a strangled voice. "They just shocked me with more voltage than I'll be able to stand for long - please, replace them with a rope or something - I don't care - just get these bands off of me!" The intensity of the possessive light in Ron's eyes scareds me, but I know by it that he has fallen into my trap. He grabs my arms and releases the bands with his touch, working steadily but never letting me loose, securing me with his strong hands around one of my wrists. Then, he calls for rope. A coil is thrown in soon after, and Ron ties me by the neck and hands to a post, like in the old days. Like the bands, these ropes are magicked, soaked in an anti-shifting fluid. But that doesn't matter now. Ron did exactly what I wanted him to do. Satisfied with his handiwork, Ron leaves us. My eyes dart to Moonlight.

"Come, quick!" I whisper hoarsely. She hobbles over. Smilibg I put my hand to her bands. They emit a soft click before falling, useless, to the dust. Moonlight and Machali gasp.

"What-" Machali starts.

"I'll tell you once we're out of here." I interrupt.

~